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From X-bit Labs: A new specification for the popular Serial ATA storage interface will double the maximum transfer speed from 3Gb/s to 6Gb/s. This will provide an interface with data rate that will be enough to feed the forthcoming hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs).
“By doubling transfer speeds while maintaining backward compatibility, the new specification will make Serial ATA an even more attractive solution for consumers and businesses alike,” said Knut Grimsrud, SATA-IO president and Intel Fellow.
Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of SATA technology, today released to its members the physical layer (PHY) portion for its third generation storage interface, which will be defined in the upcoming SATA Revision 3.0 specification. Today’s release ushers in a new generation of faster SATA 6Gb/s products. Developers can now begin designing products based on SATA 6Gb/s technology as work continues on the SATA Revision 3.0 specification, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2008.
“SATA has become the primary storage interface with more than 650 million SATA hard disk drives shipped since its introduction in 2001. He added that more than three-quarters of new desktop and mobile PC systems shipped in 2007 were equipped with SATA hard drives. Other devices adopting the SATA interface technology include optical disk drives, solid state drives and multi-user storage applications. Many entry and mid-level servers as well as external storage systems now feature the technology,” said John Rydning, IDC’s research director for hard disk drives.
View: Article @ Source Site


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If you're a savvy shopper with good negotiating skills, you might be able to get discounts on almost anything.
Armed with price tracking tools and their iPhones, some late-season Christmas shoppers they know retailers are desperate for sales and could be vulnerable. We found Courtney Larson shopping at Sears at Mall of America for a tool set.
"I'm going to ask for a store manager and start off with trying to get 50 percent off the tool box, and then go from there," Larson said.
Allison Kaplan, style editor for Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, said the recession created a new shopping landscape with more competition and smarter shoppers, willing to take some extra steps to get the best deals.
"The stores have done this to themselves, when they're changing the price every other day," Kaplan said. "It makes you more likely to ask."
Kaplan said while most retailers won't tell shoppers they're willing to bargain, it seems to be more common for home and sporting goods or electronic stores like Best Buy to advertise their price matching policies. Manager Angela Smith said they want to seal the deal in the store.
"We don't want to sell things below what we pay for them, but on occasion we do if that's what the competition is doing and if that's what makes our customers want to come back and see us," Smith said.
So what about that tool box discount?
"I just asked if he could give me any type of a discount and he just said no," Larson said.
But it never hurts to ask.

domain: news


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Augmented reality company Nreal is launching a cheaper, iOS-compatible, more compact version of its smart glasses. The new Nreal Air glasses are supposed to ship starting in December 2021 across Japan, China, and South Korea. The price isn’t set, but Nreal says they’ll cost “a fraction of the price” of its earlier Nreal Light glasses, which started selling for around $600 last year.
Based on Nreal’s description, the new Nreal Air glasses have some core similarities with the Nreal Light glasses from 2020. Both are designed to look like relatively normal sunglasses and pitched as ideal for projecting a virtual big-screen display in front of your eyes. They’re both using micro OLED displays for their augmented reality optics and are powered by a phone via a tether cable. And they’re both aimed at consumers rather than businesses, researchers, or the military.
Unlike Nreal’s last glasses, there are no outward-facing cameras
But Nreal Air glasses have a different feature set than their predecessors. Similar to Microsoft HoloLens or Magic Leap hardware, the original Nreal Light glasses could map physical space around you with a set of outward-facing cameras. Nreal Air glasses, by contrast, don’t have any outward-facing cameras. They can display video and phone apps, but they can’t see what’s around you, which means they don’t have the spatial awareness and hand tracking options the Nreal Light does. You’ll control them with a smartphone app, an option that’s also available on Light glasses.
The upside is that Nreal Air glasses are ironically much lighter than Light glasses at 77 grams instead of 106 grams. They don’t have the slightly bug-eyed look that Light glasses do — in product renders, they look more like Facebook and Ray-Ban’s smart glasses, minus the front-facing cameras. (The Ray-Ban Stories glasses, which have cameras but no AR display, weigh around 50 grams.) The new glasses let users tilt the lenses at three angles, making it potentially easier for more people to get a clearer image. Nreal Light glasses launched with support for specific 5G Android phones, but the new glasses will also work while tethered to iPhones and iPads as well as “most” Android devices.
Compared to the Light, the Nreal Air glasses also have a higher screen refresh rate of 90Hz and an increased pixel density of 49 PPD. Nreal says the glasses’ field of view is 46 degrees, compared to the Nreal Light’s 52 degrees — it equates the Air’s view with a 130-inch screen from 3 meters away or a 201-inch screen at 6 meters. If wearers have friends with Nreal glasses, there’s a viewing party option that turns that screen into a shared virtual theater where they can all watch the same media.
Nreal intends to expand the Air glasses’ rollout in 2022, and a spokesperson says the US is a “major market” for the company, although it hasn’t announced plans to ship there. As with the Light, it’s going to be selling the glasses in partnership with major phone carriers; it hasn’t named specific partners, but it’s previously worked with Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, Korea’s LG Uplus, and Japan’s KDDI.
78 percent of users in Korea watched streaming video
An Nreal spokesperson says the company developed the Air after realizing that most users were primarily either using the glasses to watch streaming video (and to a lesser extent, browse the web) or to develop apps for the platform. In Korea, around 78 percent of users watched streaming content with the glasses. “Consumers today are seeking lighter, but longer lasting AR glasses exclusively for streaming media and working from home,” company founder Chi Xu said in a statement. According to Nreal, the lack of cameras is also supposed to reassure bystanders that the glasses don’t threaten their privacy.
Nreal is one of a handful of consumer smart glasses, and these results could hint at what people actually want from AR headsets. But Nreal also hasn’t made a concerted play for experiences that mix the real and virtual worlds — a use case that other companies like Facebook have emphasized more heavily. Instead, it’s focusing on something it already knows people love: binge watching video.


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Helping to fuel growth in the global snack foods market, hectic lifestyles have driven consumers away from traditional meals toward quick, convenient foods. A report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts the global snack food market is likely to be worth $334 billion by 2015.
Although the Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Latin American markets are experiencing rapid growth, even the seemingly mature U.S. and Western European markets are poised for greater snack opportunities. Innovative packaging, new flavors and convenience are steamrolling new product development, but the most important driver is healthier snacks – ones with less fat, less sodium and fewer calories -- that still taste great.
U.S. manufacturers are working hard to provide better-for-you snacks. Evidence favoring better-for-you claims in salty snacks is compelling, reports the Lempert Report.
Total salty snacks with organic claims are on a four-year run of sales advances – up 11 percent, 8 percent, 5.5 percent and, in the latest 52 weeks ended Feb. 19, they are up by 3.7 percent to $196.3 million, according to Nielsen Label Trends data for U.S. food stores. Even more impressive, salty snacks with reduced sodium claims had double-digit gains for four consecutive years – up 21 percent, 13.3 percent, 16.3 percent and, in the latest 52 weeks, up 18.4 percent to $265.5 million.
Rethink oils and shortenings
"Today's consumer continues to buy food products motivated by taste, quality, convenience and price," says Roger Daniels, director of research & development at oils supplier Bunge Oils, St. Louis. "Nutrition, wellness, simplified and sustainable are secondary drivers, which seem to be growing in consumer importance. Food processors are tapping into those [latter] demands by taking a closer look at their food ingredients."
Since oils and shortenings are key components of many snack food products, "they are prime ingredient investigation candidates," continues Daniels. "Snack food manufacturers employ oils and shortenings primarily as heat transfer mediums in frying, structure contributors in baked applications and flavor carriers in spray oil snack cracker applications.
"Food manufacturers are interested in how to achieve oils and shortening functionality with increased levels of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and minimal levels of saturated and trans fatty acids," continues Daniels. "We offer a full line of oil solutions to meet frying and spray oil applications needs. The options are based on soybean oil, canola oil and high-oleic canola oil, which contribute polyunsaturated and/or monounsaturated fatty acids -- those are viewed by the nutrition sciences community as important to maintaining a nutritionally sound diet."
Bunge also offers technical service and the use of the Bunge Ingredient Innovation Center (BiiC) in Bradley, Ill., to aid snack food product developers. Bunge ingredient options are based on four technologies: RighT patented partial hydrogenation technology (using soybean and cottonseed oils) that reduces trans fats by greater than 80 percent and the sum of trans and saturates by about 33 percent; UltraBlends Designer Solutions (high oleic canola oil and, in the coming year or two, high oleic soybean oils); UltraBlends Enzymatic Solutions (an enzymatic process delivers a trans fat free shortening while optimizing saturates without partial hydrogenation); and NH technology (zero trans fat shortenings based on non-hydrogenated palm oil.
Still in the (oil) pipeline
Most processors already have made their initial move away from trans fats; now they're looking for second-generation solutions.
"Manufacturers have been involved in a conversion from trans fat for a while, and that is what Plenish oil is all about," says Susan Knowlton, senior research manager of Johnston, Iowa-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a DuPont business.
Plenish is a soy-based trans fat solution targeted at the fast food industry, because of its heavy reliance on frying. "This oil has exceptional stability in frying situations, and it alleviates some of the problems manufacturers encounter when frying oils go bad. It retains its properties very well and remains stable over much longer periods of fry life."
One caveat: Plenish is not widely available yet, and it's not yet in any widely distributed commercial product. DuPont/Pioneer has approvals from FDA and USDA plus Canadian authorities (international approvals are still being solicited), but the specially bred soybean supply is not large enough to support full commercialization. That may come next year.
Frying is an extreme environment, and there are a number of things that happen during frying, Knowlton points out. "There are physical changes that happen to the oil as the result of lack of stability through an oxidation process that occurs. There is a polymer buildup, for example, that causes negative changes to the taste. All these problems can be alleviated if you have oil that is very stable to oxidation.


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- Tennis superstar Venus Williams said her go-to remedies for travel, especially during cold and flu season, include natural supplements like oil of oregano, garlic, and vitamin C.
- There are documented benefits to all the above, although some of the research is preliminary or mixed.
- Here's what the evidence says about how well those remedies work for killing germs, boosting your immune system, and more.
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.
With an unrelenting schedule of travel, workouts, and training on the court, Venus Williams can't afford to get sick.
In an interview with Insider as part of a promotion with Clorox disinfectant wipes for cold and flu, the Olympic gold medalist and former tennis world champion talked about her favorite ways of staying healthy on the road.
In addition to disinfectants, which she said she uses on germy hotspots like airplane seats, taxis, and even her cell phone, she said her favorite ways to stay healthy are simple dietary supplements like vitamin C, oregano oil, and plenty of garlic to boost her immune system.
In fact, Williams is such a fan of the latter, family members have complained about the smell. "I don't even notice the smell any more, I eat so much of it," she told Insider.
Here's the evidence behind each of these remedies.
Vitamin C has a strong reputation as a cold-fighter, but it's probably overhyped
It's often cited that vitamin C — whether in a pill, powder, piece of fruit, or glass of juice — boosts your immune system.
But the evidence on whether vitamin C actually prevents illness is mixed despite extensive research. In studies, people who took vitamin C daily were no safer from common colds and other ailments than people who took a placebo. It also didn't make colds go away any faster, researchers found.
Still there are plenty of other reasons to get enough vitamin C, ideally through fruits and veggies. The vitamin is one of many micronutrients that are necessary for good health, and lack of it can cause nasty symptoms from fatigue to scurvy.
Oregano oil has promising antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties
This essential oil, distilled from the fragrant herb often found in Italian and other cuisines, is loaded with antioxidants.
According to available research, oregano oil is indeed packed with promising health benefits. Studies have found that it seems to inhibit certain viruses, particularly respiratory viruses like the flu. Research has also found it may have antibacterial properties, although previous studies have been on mice, so more research is needed to determine whether it can actually prevent sickness or help ease cold and flu symptoms in humans.
So while it won't hurt to add some oregano oil to your daily routine, it's not a proven panacea and won't replace old standbys of getting plenty of sleep and drinking lots of fluids when you're sick.
Garlic has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties, and evidence backs it up
Despite its pungent odor, there's good evidence behind garlic's disease-fighting abilities. Research has shown compounds in the bulbs can boost certain types of white bloods cells in your body, helping fight off invaders like viruses. And, unlike other supplements, there's evidence that it might actually reduce the severity of cold and flu symptoms.
This is great news for your next spaghetti dinner, but again, nutritional supplements aren't a replacement for balanced diet, a healthy lifestyle, and medical advice when necessary. And, more research is needed to determine if it's clinically effective at fighting disease.


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home entertainment package has seen its share of delays, but will begin shipping to retailers in November. According to Unu, they are now ready to ship the various packages to retailers and customers, just in time for the holiday season. Available for pre-order now, Unu offers a unique take on the fight for your living room.
Tagged: home entertainment
Samsung announced another device that will be headed to the market with Android to connect with all their smartphones and tablets. It's called the Samsung HomeSync media set-top box and today we've got a quick hands-on with it. This isn't Google TV, instead Samsung's using this to integrate their Android-toting devices deeper into our lives, and living rooms.
Google Drive". Now the rumor mill at WSJ is churning with news of a home entertainment service from the ubiquitous search engine provider, which may or may not be linked with the Android@Home project. It is coincidence that both of these stories have been leaked within hours of each other? Officially, yes; that's kind of the nature of a leak. But unofficially it all points to a centralized, Google-hosted media hub that's accessible from any Android device, PC, or connected television.
Lenovo has unveiled a new, Android-powered smart TV at CES today, the K91, running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and delivering tech specs we'd more expect to find on a smartphone. The K91 smart TV has a dual-core Snapdragon 8060 processor and a 5-megapixel camera in the bezel, above a 55-inch 3D-capable 240Hz HD IPS LCD display.
CES week and Samsung is looking to stand out with the new inTouch. Running 2.3 Gingerbread in a webcam designed to hook up via HDMI to your TV and via WiFi to your home network, the inTouch allows you to hold 720p HD Skype video calls as well as watch YouTube videos from your lounge.


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Consumers are sitting on mountains of debt, and many people face record-high interest rates on credit card purchases that they can’t pay off each month.
Will all this be enough to derail holiday shopping merriment? Probably not, though tips to keep spending and get debt under control ring louder than ever.
The typical credit card now charges a record-high 20.72% rate on introductory offers, reports Bankrate.com. Certain types of cards, such as those sponsored by specific stores or retailers, are even higher, averaging 28.93%, according to a new survey by the company.
People who can’t pay off their balances in full each month face high-interest expenses and, possibly, many months if not years of paying off those bills.
In fact, credit card debt hit a record $1.03 trillion in the second quarter of this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported. In 2022, consumers were charged $105 billion in interest on cards and accrued $25 billion in late payment and other fees, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported recently.
Learn more: Best credit cards of 2023
Few signs yet of tapped-out consumers
Nevertheless, delinquencies, bankruptcies and the other usual alarms aren’t sounding off right now, and retailers are preparing for a reasonably robust holiday shopping season.
“Most people are keeping up with their bills,” said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com.
Several factors explain that, but the biggest one likely is a still-robust job situation, with plenty of openings and few layoffs, he said. Many people still have healthy financial cushions, whether from housing equity, pandemic-relief aid that they haven’t fully spent or other reasons.
Over the past year or so, total credit card debt has jumped by 11%, despite rising rates, as people borrow in an effort to maintain the standard of living that they enjoyed during the pandemic, observed David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
“It should be emphasized, however, that this growth in debt is likely very far from a breaking point,” he wrote in a recent commentary.
J.P. Morgan estimates that debt servicing or managing debt payments lately has absorbed just 9.9% of household disposable income. That’s still well below the 13.2% peak that was reached roughly a decade and a half ago.
Nor, of course, do all credit card users face those 20%-plus interest rates, as about half of borrowers pay off their credit balances each month and long-standing accounts feature lower rates.
However, Bankrate’s latest reading shows 47% of consumers are unable to pay off their card debts each month, up from 39% as of December 2021, near the time when the Federal Reserve started to hike rates. The jump in average credit card rates to 20.72% today from 16.16% two years ago is almost fully attributable to the Fed’s rate hikes to tamp down on inflation, Rossman said.
Keeping credit balances manageable
What can consumers do to keep their credit card debts under control?
Aside from the usual cautions such as sticking to a budget, paying solely with cash and taking on a side job, now might be a good time for people with lingering card debts to consider a 0% balance transfer. These allow consumers who switch credit cards to delay paying interest for up to 21 months. Two cards Rossman likes for this purpose are Wells Fargo Reflect and Citi Simplicity.
Consumers who choose the balance-transfer route often face a fee of 3% to 5% of the balance moved, but that still can be a good deal for the interest-payment respite offered, he said. To qualify for a transfer, borrowers typically need decent credit scores of around 670 or higher and often can’t move more than $5,000 to $6,000 in debt, he added.
Card issuers receiving high consumer-satisfaction scores in general according to a recent WalletHub survey include Navy Federal Credit Union, U.S. Bank, Discover, Amex and Chase. That survey showed even higher interest charges on new cards than the Bankrate survey, averaging close to 22.4%.
People seeking a new credit card still can find those charging interest below 20%. Rossman suggests looking at cards issued by various federally insured credit unions, which typically cap interest at rates no higher than 18%, he added.
Given such high-interest charges, it doesn’t take long to fall behind if you can’t make sufficiently high payments. If that’s the case, you might need to pursue more concerted help from nonprofit credit counseling groups such as Money Management International and many others, Rossman suggests.
Card late fees could start easing
While cardholders won’t find much to cheer about concerning interest rates, there’s some good news on late fees, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed cutting them to as low as $8 per violation, with some exceptions.
This rule could take effect in early 2025, says Consumer Reports, which recently estimated 52 million Americans paid a late fee within a prior 12-month period.
However, credit card interest rates aren’t likely to start a downward trend until the Fed starts cutting rates, which doesn’t seem likely at least before the second half of 2024.
Reach the writer at [email protected].


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While shares in Keurig Green Mountain fell sharply after it unveiled the $369 price tag for the new Keurig Kold machine in the spring, CEO Brian Kelley said purchase intent scores were high as consumers understood the value proposition.
Commenting on the launch today, he said the KOLD system encouraged “choice and discovery”, enabling consumers to make craft and fountain-style sodas, zero- and low-calorie flavored seltzers and waters, sports hydration drinks, iced teas and - coming soon - cocktail mixers.
"The disruptive countertop-size innovation in KOLD is like nothing consumers have ever experienced - from the rapid chilling that turns room temperature water to a perfectly chilled drink at the push of a button; to the dispensing technology that produces consistently great tasting beverages; to the pod technology which enables fully carbonated beverages. KOLD delivers game changing, on-demand variety.”
‘Choice and discovery’
In a presentation to analysts and investors about the at-home cold carbonation system in May, Kelley said Keurig KOLD tapped into the trend towards customization, would appeal to urban dwellers that don’t like lugging heavy soft drinks home from the store, and promised choice, freshness, portion control (8oz, 100 cals or fewer).
It also frees up space in the fridge and promises “all the fizz without the fuss", he said, as there is no C02 canister [Kold uses ‘carbonator beads’ instead].
The machines – which produce cold beverages at 39°F in 60-seconds – are launching with six new brands exclusive to the Keurig system [Red Barn, Flynn’s, Waterful, Flyte, Tierney’s, Seraphine] plus products from Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
Asked about sales forecasts, Kelley expected a slow start (“100s of thousands in the first year rather than millions”), but a rapid scale up later: “Our mission is to have an appliance on every counter and a beverage for every occasion…
Price is a big obstacle
But does KOLD promise a sufficiently distinctive experience to warrant shelling out $1.12-$1.29 per serving for DIY beverages that aren’t hugely different from anything already available in ready to drink formats, where the unit price is considerably lower?
Howard Telford, senior beverage industry analyst at Euromonitor International, told FoodNavigator-USA price was a “big obstacle”.
Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director at Datamonitor Consumer, added: “The potentially game-changing innovation here is being able to do this without any carbon dioxide canister. That looks like a major advance over SodaStream as does the ability to dispense soft drinks cold right from the machine.”
As for customization, he said: “I thought this would be more Coke Freestyle-like, where you could mix and match flavors and make your own drink that way. I’m not sure if the KOLD machine can accommodate multiple pods at the same time (kind of like a CD player could accommodate multiple CDs) to attempt to do that. Something like that could help justify the price. If not, I don’t think there is enough there to justify the expense.”


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An article on the Bloomberg website highlights how retail sales are on the rise as the economy improves. What this means for retailers is that they had better start investing money into improving their own legacy environment to boost the customer experience. Now is the time to invest in retail ERP software.
Retailers must understand how consumer habits are changing, an article on the Infofree website explains. In particular, consumers expect year-round Black Friday-type deals, while online shopping, free shipping and showrooming all are on the rise. A retail ERP system can help businesses analyze these trends and adjust future plans.
Even though retail sales got the cold shoulder in December, analysts say consumer spending will warm up in 2013. One analyst points out in an article on CNBC.com that many retailers had the wrong inventory or a shortage of inventory this holiday season. Retail ERP software is the key to better inventory management.
The retailers who survived the recession are the ones that adapted best to consumers’ changing purchasing patterns. More than ever, consumers are cautious about how much they’re spending, an article on Forbes.com reports. Retailers need retail management software to understand these changes and stay strong in an evolving retail landscape.
Beauty bars offering professional makeup services are popping up in big cities across the country, an article on The Wall Street Journal’s website reports. They’re a great place for retailers to showcase products. But first, retailers must understand their customers. That’s where retail management software can help.
Meet retail’s next big customer: the millenials. They are the largest and most diverse group with spending power estimated at $65 billion annually.. To get a piece of that pie, a national department store chain is targeting the 13 to 30-year-old demographic with a multi-brand initiative, says an article on RetailingToday.com.
Since the recession, people are more cost-conscious, and they’re turning to do-it-yourself projects instead of hiring someone to do it for them. That trend is giving some retailers a boost, an article on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s website highlights. This trend to save money will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
Hunting for a bargain can be a thrill, and retailers need to understand that about their customers.That’s what retail expert Paco Underhill recently told the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association. Retailers must understand and work with consumer behavior, rather than trying to abruptly change it.
An article on CNN Money’s website said that many online-only retailers are setting up storefronts. It’s a move that seems to contradict why these companies chose to set up their business online in the first place – to eliminate extra overhead expense. While it’s a great idea for retailers that want to expand, it’s not something necessary to succeed.
Retail is taking the big out of box. Instead of “one size fits all,” large store chains should focus on selling niche products, growing digital channels and creating a seamless brand experience, say two leading consumer industry companies in a joint report cited in an article on Retail Wire’s website.
Consumer confidence in September reached the highest level in months, a trend that could translate into huge revenue for retailers and cause a ripple effect for the economy according to an article on CNN’s website. But retailers need to watch stock. They need to make sure they have the products shoppers are looking for.
Randy Misener, Editor-at-Large
Randy Misener is the Industry Executive responsible for Enterprise Retail Management solutions at Avanade. Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation and has approximately 15,000 professionals in more than 20 countries.


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The India government’s recently ban PUBG Mobile game And has left many players looking for an equally good alternative. Surely, you can check out our list of all the PUBG Mobile alternatives you can play for free. An Indian game developer has, however, come up with a way to cash-in on the opportunity. Choosing Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador, nCore Games has come with acction game called— FAU-G (upcoming)
India’s answer to PUBG Mobile is India's Upcoming Game FAU-G. There’s no doubt the developers wanted the game to ring bells with PUBG Mobile loyalists. Akshay Kumar recently post on Twitter to says this is an action game focused on providing entertainment to players. Apart from that, it will also preach about the sacrifices of our armed forces. In case you were wondering what FAU-G stands for, it means “Fearless And United-Guards”.
However, unlike PUBG Mobile, the proceeds for FAU-G will be directed for noble causes. Akshay Kumar says that 20 percent of the game’s revenues will be directed to the Bharat Ke Veer trust. Hence, if you make any purchase in-game, part of your payment will help the government’s soldiers trust.
Before you get too excited, do know that the FAU-G game is in the development stage and there’s no definitive launch date as of now. Moreover, the developer hasn’t stated which platforms will the game be available on. It seems that it will launch initially on Android and then move to iOS. There’s no hint on the gameplay details, graphics and compatibility yet.
FAU-G and Other PUBG Mobile Alternatives
While FAU-G is one upcoming alternative to PUBG Mobile, there are already a few games available to pick for free. Free Fire and Call of Duty Mobile is available on Android and iOS as a free to download and play. Call of Duty Mobile is similar to PUBG Mobile in terms of gameplay but brings superior graphics as well as additional maps to host a variety of matches.
Similarly, another popular Game Garena FreeFire available as an alternative to PUBG Mobile. FreeFire has similar gameplay modes and events with several in-game items available for purchase. If you use a Android mobile, you can also download Fortnite from its website. Despite getting banned by Google, Fortnite continues to be a popular alternative to PUBG Mobile with an interactive gameplay concept involving building structures. Fortnite isn’t available on iOS due to the recent feud between developer Epic Games and Apple.
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Bizongo, just one of the largest small business-to-enterprise on the web marketplaces for packaging desires in India, has raised $30 million in fresh new funding spherical as it seems to widen its footprint in the nation and grow to much more classes.
The new financing spherical, Sequence C, was led by Switzerland-based hedge fund Schroder Adveq, which manages assets worth $10 billion. Existing traders B Cash, Accel, Chiratae Ventures, and IFC also participated in the spherical, the startup explained.
Mumbai-centered Bizongo has elevated about $56 million to day. It was valued at about $96 million in its Series B funding round in 2018, according to an analysis of its regulatory filings.
The 5-year-previous startup serves as a market for enterprises to discover, invest in, and promote product packing remedies throughout industries. It also provides in-home packing design and style, enhancement, and procurement methods.
Sachin Agarwal, chief working officer and co-founder of Bizongo, reported the startup offers a exceptional value proposition of promising a “100% availability of packaging substance and no-stock-outs at extremely small inventory.”
“This allows clients to cut down their packaging materials procurement cost by 2-5% and at the exact same time ensures greater production arranging for our supply associates. This creates a solid value proposition for all stakeholders across the price chain,” he claimed in a statement.
Bizongo did not reveal how several consumers it has, but explained they span across some of the nation’s main e-commerce, retail, FMCG, FMCD industries. On its web-site, it mentions that it works with about 750 brands in India, and has sent 290 million packaging models to date. It also statements to have served in excess of 350 brands.
In a assertion, Aniket Deb, chief government and co-founder of Bizongo, mentioned the startup has witnessed a “significant advancement in functioning metrics due to the fact the very last round of funding and the present-day round will even further help us improve the organization in a sustainable way.”
The clean fund will be deployed to ramp up technology infrastructure and to increase to newer sectors this kind of as pharma packaging. Deb claimed the startup also plans to perform on growing its existence in the place.
“We believe that in the eyesight of the founders who are transforming and digitising the really fragmented B2B packaging market by leveraging know-how and a special provide chain effectiveness remedy. Bizongo has shown strong momentum by continuing to incorporate marquee purchasers and we have been amazed with the company’s immediate progress trajectory above the past calendar year,” claimed Kabir Narang, Basic Companion at B Capital Team, in a assertion.


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The story has been updated.
UPDATE: WM Motor has contacted us to explain the images do not depict any of their models and are not associated with the company. An official statement regarding the matter has been published on their website here.
Founded by Freeman Shen, a former Volvo China chairman and chief executive, WM Motor is a new EV startup from the People's Republic. Several images have emerged onto the web this week allegedly depicting production cars it plans to launch in the years to come. Attached pictures are showing a total of four models: an SUV, an MPV, a sedan, and what appears to be a jacked-up wagon.
If you’re wondering why the SUV looks so familiar, it’s because the render is actually a photoshop based on an official image of the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Concept-S without even changing the wheels. As a matter of fact, the whole image has been carried over.
Moving onto the MPV, it looks quite fishy and sends off a strong Zafira vibe. As a matter of fact, the logo on the wheels appears to be Opel’s, thus indicating that whoever created the render didn’t even bother to change it.
As far as the sedan and the raised wagon are concerned, both of them seem to be based on the same vehicle. Might that be the Peugeot 508 Sedan and its rugged 508 RXH wagon counterpart?
Anyway, WM Motor wants to open a factory in Wenzhou, China as well as an R&D center in Germany, according to Forbes. Work on the assembly plant has already commenced and the company has managed to raise $1 billion so far, with plans to launch a total of eight models until 2025.
Once the factory will be operational and is going to run at full capacity, WM Motor estimates it will make 200,000 cars per year. Most of these will be sold locally, but Shen says it wants to kick off exports to United States by the middle of the next decade.


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This Classic 171 Year Old Candy Might Be Going Away Forever
By Admin on April 11, 2018
I have to be honest, I will not miss Necco Wafers if they truly disappear. Not even the conversation hearts because, while fun, they are gross. But, Necco lovers are freaking out at the fact the the 171 year old candy could be going away forever.
Today reports that the company is having trouble finding a buyer. And, if they don’t by summer, they will likely have to lay off all employees. Now, that last part is a bummer and I do care about that.
Additionally, people are trying to profit from the potential closure via the interwebs. They are selling Necco Wafers and Conversation Hearts at double the price on eBay.
Will you miss the chalky little candy circles? Or the classic Valentine’s Day sweetheart treats?
Real question though—do these and Tums taste exactly alike?


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2015 might have been the year of "peak iPhone."
More and more analysts are now agreeing that in 2016, iPhone sales will — for the first time ever — go into decline.
It's a troubling prospect for Apple: more than two-thirds of its total revenues and profits come from sales of the smartphone. If the iPhone is going in reverse, it makes it significantly more difficult for Apple to continue to grow.
Some of the speculation is based on recent guidance from Dialog Semiconductor, which supplies chips for the iPhone. Apple drives 75% of Dialog's revenue — and on Tuesday, it reduced Q4 guidance from $430 million (£286 million)-$460 (£306 million) to $390 million (£259 million)-$400 million (£260 million). This suggests Apple is lowering its orders — a potential indicator the iPhone is going into decline.
Here's what analysts are expecting in the year ahead for Apple's flagship product.
MORGAN STANLEY: On Monday, the financial services firm predicted that sales of the iPhone will drop by nearly 6% in Apple's 2016 financial year (or 2.9% in the calendar year). Analyst Katy Huberty points to "higher prices in international markets (ex-China) and maturing smartphone penetration in developed markets [weighing] on upgrades and new user growth" as the reasons behind the drop.
STIFEL: On Tuesday, Stifel pointed directly at Dialog's revised guidance as evidence of a decline. "The size of the Dialog miss leaves us to believe it is iPhone (vs. iPad) related, and based on the dollar content that Dialog would typically see, we believe investors could estimate as much as a 12 million unit shortfall," it said.
BAIRD: A Tuesday research note says "the Baird semiconductor team recently suggested a 20% cut in procurement orders based on its supply chain conversations." Q2 of FY2016 will be down year-on-year, it expects, although it cautions that "we always take supply chain comments with a hefty grain of salt."
CREDIT SUISSE: On Wednesday, it said it is lowering its estimate for calendar year 2016 iPhone sales to 214 million — 8 million less than its earlier prediction, and even less than Morgan Stanley's 224 million CY2016 prediction. It says its Asian research team is detecting "a deeper cut in December and March production volumes. The cuts seem to be driven by weak demand for the new iPhone 6s, as overall builds are now estimated to be below 75-80mn units for the December quarter and between 45-50mn units for the March quarter."
PIPERJAFFRAY: PiperJaffray's Gene Munster is more effusive about the iPhone. He argues that while "investor concern about iPhone growth has increased based on measurable cuts to analyst estimates," along with Dialog's guidance revision, this isn't the end of the world. "The next few quarters appear less significant to the broader iPhone story and the more important question is whether the iPhone will grow during the iPhone 7 cycle." His answer: Yes. "We remain confident in our 4% cycle growth for iPhone 7."


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Chicken slaughterhouses are using high volume of new bacteria-killing chemicals to hide the presence of salmonella
According to Washington Post, a recent report by US Department of Agriculture shows that the chicken slaughterhouses use high volume of new bacteria-killing chemical that could be masking the presence of salmonella and other pathogens in chickens. The USDA experts also believe that using such strong chemicals can cause medical conditions in people such as increase in allergies, skin rashes and respiratory problems.
Although, in the last few years, the salmonella contamination in chickens has decreased, more people have been affected by salmonella bacteria. The researchers believe that the drastic increase in chemicals at chicken slaughterhouses is responsible for increase in new pathogens and bacteria.
Although, the tests are showing that less chickens are contaminated with salmonella, the recent reports by CDC shows that the numbers of consumers getting sick by salmonella is relatively high and that has raised concerns among USDA inspectors.
“I don’t really know if the new treatments are working or if it’s giving us all false hope,” said David Hosmer, president of the Southwest Council of Food Inspection Locals.
“Food is safer; just not as safe as the tests are showing.” said Howarth. He also mentioned that there is a problem with the chemicals used in slaughterhouses since the number of people who are getting sick from salmonella hasn’t gone down.
Using stronger chemicals and antibiotic resistant bacteria:
Since 2000, the numbers of chemical treatments in chickens have grown from two to four. The recent report by USDA shows that the chemicals are not diluted as they were in the past while stronger chemicals are used to make consumption of factory chickens safe.
Besides, the increase in use of stronger chemicals, the livestock including chickens and cows are fed or injected with antibiotics. If you like chicken wings, you should also know that chickens are injected with antibiotics in their wings and superbug bacteria and antibiotic resistant infections affects more than 5 million Americans a year. http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria.php
Recently, the Obama Administration has been trying to pass a proposal that will give even more freedom to chicken plants policy makers by requiring even lower number of inspectors in poultry plants. Please sign this petition to stop USDA plant for unsafe chickens.
Instead of chicken slaughterhouses, FDA is going after organic farmers for salmonella contamination:
FDA new policies are specifically targeting small farmers and local organic producers who have never ever been responsible for any salmonella contamination. FDA recent guidelines require that farmers with more than 3,000 egg laying chickens, should keep their hens indoors to avoid bacterial contamination like salmonella and contact with rats, mice, flies, cats and birds.
In an interview, the co-owner of Fully Belly Farm, Judith Redmond told Atlantic Monthly that “There is a clear difference between farms that harvest 300 acres of a single crop in one day and put it into bags that have a shelf life of 16 days and small farms with 30 acres and 30 different crops that are hand harvested and locally sold in a day or two." She also mentioned that the current policies of FDA have failed to understand that the industrial food system has created this problem (salmonella) at the first place, not organic farmers”. Tell FDA to ban filthy chickens contaminated with arsenic, hormones and antibiotics: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FDA_FRDOC_0001-4090


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Beijing, July 20:
China’s renminbi (RMB) may become the world’s fourth most-used international currency, replacing the Japanese yen, a media report said here on Monday.
The People’s Daily quoted Chen Yulu, president of Renmin University of China, as saying that the International Monetary Forum had raised the RMB Internationalization Index from 0.02 in 2009 to 2.47 in 2014. The top three currencies are the dollar, the euro and the British pound, although the listing varies, depending on which criteria is being used.
The daily said that the level of acceptance of RMB worldwide had gone up significantly. Cross-border RMB flow reached 6.55 trillion in 2014, seeing a rise of 41.6 percent. RMB constitutes 2.96 percent of worldwide trades, seeing a direct investment amount of 1.05 trillion. RMB, also known as the yuan, had now become the world’s second trade-finance currency, fifth payment currency, and sixth foreign-exchange currency, Chen said.
RMB will see a greater surge in market share, the report added.
In January 2014, RMB had surpassed the Swiss franc to become the seventh most-used currency in the world, according to SWIFT, the global transaction services organisation. (IANS)


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Nokia unveiled on Wednesday its new virtual-reality camera for professional filmmakers and content creators.
The Nokia-Alcatel deal has not yet won approval from Chinese authorities. The transaction is expected to close next year.
Nokia reported that its network equipment business had significantly improved sales and profitability in the second quarter, sending its share price soaring.
Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia said it was looking at re-entering the mobile phone market by striking a licensing deal with another firm.
Nokia has unveiled a spherical camera designed for making 3D movies and games that can be watched and played with virtual reality headsets.
Nokia is hiring software experts, testing new products and seeking sales partners as it plots its return to the mobile phone and consumer tech arena.
Long-pending network expansion plan of MTNL may get delayed further as telecom equipment supplier Nokia Networks has rejected the purchase order from the PSU.
The proposed transaction, which still needs the approval of Nokia shareholders, aims to open up the North American market for Nokia, which has been dominant in Europe.


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As Mayor Michael Bloomberg loves to tell anyone who will listen, New York is one of the safest cities in the U.S., baring little resemblance to the city’s dangerous streets of 1980’s and 90’s. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some problem areas. One of the biggest involves Apple acolytes who can’t seem to hold on to their devices. Last December, Mr. Bloomberg blamed an uptick in major crime on iPhone theft.
Now the New York Police Department is going a step further to protect and serve the Apple-loving hordes out there by forming a team of police officers dedicated to tracking down stolen Apple products. Priorities!
According to the New York Post, the NYPD will coordinate with Apple to track stolen iPhones and iPads. The police will pass the stolen device’s tracking number, known as an International Mobile Station Equipment Identity, to Apple, which can track a device even when the data carrier has changed or the device has been wiped. The partnership has led the NYPD as far away as the Dominican Republic to arrest a suspected thief in Santo Domingo.
“We’re looking for ways to find individuals who have stolen Apple products and return the products to their original owners,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne to the Post. “It is being done to learn the pattern who is stealing.”
All these resources marshalled because you can’t keep your damn hands off your Apple device on the street? We’re starting to understand the Android rage.


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Our coach wins Judge’s Special Award at the British Franchise Association Franchise of the Year ceremony
October 11th, 2013
Our coach, Shweta Jhajharia was announced as winner of the Special Judge's Award, after being a finalist of the female franchisee of the year category at this year’s bfa (British Franchise Association) HSBC Franchise of the Year Awards. The event which takes place annually aims to acknowledge global franchise owners for their ethical and entrepreneurial achievements. This year saw 17 finalists chosen for five individual categories including; female franchisee of the year, customer service, long serving, micro business of the year and youngest franchisee of the year.
Due to Shweta’s impressive history, she became the first candidate to receive a Judge's Special Award at the event, which was unanimously agreed by all four judges, making her the runner up in the overall event. She said “I am delighted and honoured to accept this prestigious award. I see this as an acknowledgement of everyone who strives to excel at what they do despite all odds and make a lasting difference to their community”.
Shweta has smashed targets and became the most successful franchise partner in Europe within three years of starting her business. Out of more than one thousand business coaches globally, Shweta is now in the top five worldwide.
ActionCOACH UK's Recruitment Director Julie Wagstaff said: “We’re so pleased that Shweta was awarded the Judge's Special Award. She’s shown that a woman can successfully devote herself to both family and building a business and through immense grit has blasted away at records across ActionCOACH and the Franchisee community. It’s a great honour to see her success and inspirational story recognised”.
Furthermore bfa director general, Brian Smart said: “Every year we are overwhelmed by the sheer quality of the winners and with the new awards introduced this year, we were thrilled to see such strong business people in each category. The passion through which the winners drive their businesses forward is captivating. They are true trailblazers in their industries and it is fantastic to be celebrating their business excellence at this year’s awards.”
The finalists support recent information posted by the Office for National Statistics which suggests the number of female entrepreneurs is on the rise. According to figures the amount of females entering the entrepreneurial market has risen by 9.6% in comparison to slow rising figures for men which is at a mere 3.3% increase.


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In 2016, Macy’s began its efforts to get the American public more familiar with its products and services, including a partnership with the American Public Media Foundation (APMF), which works to increase public understanding of the media and the technology sector.
In January, APMF released a report called The Changing Customer Experience: The Impact of Online Marketing on Consumers and Consumers’ Understanding of the Media.
The APMF also has been promoting the “macym” brand, which the company started selling in 2012.
It said the “blueness of Macy’s” experience, and the “authenticity of the brand,” have become an increasingly important consideration for consumers as they make purchases online.
The APMF report noted that “mobytes” is a popular term used to describe a digital product, and it highlighted the company’s focus on using “authentic experiences” to promote the brand.
“Macy’s continues to explore ways to further improve customer experience, including building a digital and social presence and expanding the reach of the Macy’s brand through social media,” APMMF said.
With a focus on improving customer service and increasing customer awareness, Macy, the second-largest department store in the United States, is expanding its presence in markets like Japan and Europe.
The company is also adding more retailers to its global network of locations.
According to Macy’s, the company has more than 3,500 stores across the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Canada, Australia and the United Nations, and that the average sales per customer is $2,000.


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|By PR Newswire||
|January 7, 2013 04:15 PM EST||
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today launched the smartphone with the largest screen in the world, the HUAWEI Ascend Mate, at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The HUAWEI Ascend Mate features a huge 6.1-inch HD display, a 1.5 GHz Hi-Silicon quad-core processor and a 4050 mAh battery. Together with Huawei's proprietary Quick Power Control (QPC) and Automated Discontinuous Reception (ADRX) battery efficiency technology and fast sharing technology, the HUAWEI Ascend Mate is proof that bigger is better.
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huawei-unveils-smartphone-with-the-worlds-largest-screen-185910492.html
"The HUAWEI Ascend Mate breaks barriers to deliver a supercharged entertainment, communication and creative experience for all your personal and professional needs," said Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group. "The HUAWEI Ascend Mate is an industry-leading smartphone and showcases our innovation as we continue to make great technology available to more people globally."
HUAWEI Ascend Mate has a screen-to-body ratio of 73 percent – the highest in the industry – which maximizes your viewing pleasure for emails, documents, video or games. The 6.1-inch HD IPS+ LCD screen has a resolution of 1280 x 720 for unsurpassed clarity and color accuracy, and 'Magic Touch' which provides enhanced screen responsiveness even with gloves. The Ascend Mate is slim and stylish, designed to fit comfortably in a single hand at just 6.5mm thin at its narrowest part.
HUAWEI Ascend Mate features a 4050 mAh battery and Huawei's Hi-Silicon 1.5 GHz quad-core processor. With Huawei's QPC and ADRX smart power-saving technology, the smartphone provides up to two days of ordinary usage on a single charge. It has the fastest battery charging capability of smartphones in its range, which saves over 30 percent of battery charging time.
Together with global roaming functionality, the HUAWEI Ascend Mate supports five frequency bands making this smartphone perfect for international travelers. Its dual-antenna design supports high power data transmission and is optimized with maximum ratio combining method, to increase network reception by up to 2.5dB and providing an increase of 20 to 30 percent of overall network coverage.
Operating on Android 4.1 and featuring an 8.0-megapixel AF rear-facing camera with HDR and 1.0-megapixel HD front-facing camera, HUAWEI Ascend Mate also provides dual MIC noise reduction technology, Dolby® sound system and stereo recording. HUAWEI Ascend Mate features an Augmented Reality navigation application to help reach your destination, 'smart reading' functionality allowing quick reference to dictionaries, Wikipedia and Google Search pages, and 'swift sharing' to upload pictures, videos and other files two- to three-times faster than other smartphone users in a Wi-Fi environment.
Available in crystal black and pure white, the HUAWEI Ascend Mate will be on sale in China in February 2013.
About Huawei Device
Huawei Device believes that everyone can be the center of information and that the world would be a better place if access and information barriers were knocked down. Its strong suite of mobile phones, mobile broadband devices and home devices is testimony to Huawei Device's focus on customers and its commitment to providing user-friendly mobile internet experiences through ongoing innovation. Based on more than two decades of success in the information and communications industry, and with our own channel expertise, operational capabilities and global partner resources, Huawei Device is transforming from a company that sells millions of devices in single transactions to large businesses, to a "Business-to-Customer" (B2C) brand that also sells individual devices directly to millions of people. As at the end of 2012, Huawei Device serves more than 500 operators all over the world. For more information, visit Huawei Device online: www.huaweidevice.com
For regular updates on Huawei Device, follow us on:
SOURCE Huawei Device
Silver Spring Networks, Inc. (NYSE: SSNI) extended its Internet of Things technology platform with performance enhancements to Gen5 – its fifth generation critical infrastructure networking platform. Already delivering nearly 23 million devices on five continents as one of the leading networking providers in the market, Silver Spring announced it is doubling the maximum speed of its Gen5 network to up to 2.4 Mbps, increasing computational performance by 10x, supporting simultaneous mesh communic...
Feb. 13, 2016 05:00 AM EST
Eighty percent of a data scientist’s time is spent gathering and cleaning up data, and 80% of all data is unstructured and almost never analyzed. Cognitive computing, in combination with Big Data, is changing the equation by creating data reservoirs and using natural language processing to enable analysis of unstructured data sources. This is impacting every aspect of the analytics profession from how data is mined (and by whom) to how it is delivered. This is not some futuristic vision: it's ha...
Feb. 13, 2016 04:45 AM EST Reads: 465
The cloud promises new levels of agility and cost-savings for Big Data, data warehousing and analytics. But it’s challenging to understand all the options – from IaaS and PaaS to newer services like HaaS (Hadoop as a Service) and BDaaS (Big Data as a Service). In her session at @BigDataExpo at @ThingsExpo, Hannah Smalltree, a director at Cazena, will provide an educational overview of emerging “as-a-service” options for Big Data in the cloud. This is critical background for IT and data profes...
Feb. 13, 2016 03:45 AM EST Reads: 244
One of the bewildering things about DevOps is integrating the massive toolchain including the dozens of new tools that seem to crop up every year. Part of DevOps is Continuous Delivery and having a complex toolchain can add additional integration and setup to your developer environment. In his session at @DevOpsSummit at 18th Cloud Expo, Miko Matsumura, Chief Marketing Officer of Gradle Inc., will discuss which tools to use in a developer stack, how to provision the toolchain to minimize onboa...
Feb. 12, 2016 09:00 PM EST Reads: 136
Companies can harness IoT and predictive analytics to sustain business continuity; predict and manage site performance during emergencies; minimize expensive reactive maintenance; and forecast equipment and maintenance budgets and expenditures. Providing cost-effective, uninterrupted service is challenging, particularly for organizations with geographically dispersed operations.
Feb. 12, 2016 06:00 PM EST
SYS-CON Events announced today that Interoute, owner-operator of one of Europe's largest networks and a global cloud services platform, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2015 at the Javits Center in New York, New York. Interoute is the owner-operator of one of Europe's largest networks and a global cloud services platform which encompasses 12 data centers, 14 virtual data centers and 31 colocation centers, with connections to 195 ad...
Feb. 12, 2016 04:15 PM EST Reads: 433
Join us at Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo 2016 – June 7-9 at the Javits Center in New York City and November 1-3 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA – and deliver your unique message in a way that is striking and unforgettable by taking advantage of SYS-CON's unmatched high-impact, result-driven event / media packages.
Feb. 12, 2016 03:00 PM EST
SYS-CON Events announced today that Commvault, a global leader in enterprise data protection and information management, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7–9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Commvault is a leading provider of data protection and information management...
Feb. 12, 2016 02:15 PM EST Reads: 458
There will be new vendors providing applications, middleware, and connected devices to support the thriving IoT ecosystem. This essentially means that electronic device manufacturers will also be in the software business. Many will be new to building embedded software or robust software. This creates an increased importance on software quality, particularly within the Industrial Internet of Things where business-critical applications are becoming dependent on products controlled by software. Qua...
Feb. 12, 2016 02:15 PM EST
With an estimated 50 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2020, several industries will begin to expand their capabilities for retaining end point data at the edge to better utilize the range of data types and sheer volume of M2M data generated by the Internet of Things. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Don DeLoach, CEO and President of Infobright, will discuss the infrastructures businesses will need to implement to handle this explosion of data by providing specific use cases for filte...
Feb. 12, 2016 01:00 PM EST Reads: 239
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pythian, a global IT services company specializing in helping companies adopt disruptive technologies to optimize revenue-generating systems, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2015 at the Javits Center in New York, New York. Founded in 1997, Pythian is a global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as cloud, Big Data, advanced analytics, and DevO...
Feb. 12, 2016 12:30 PM EST Reads: 270
SYS-CON Events announced today that Avere Systems, a leading provider of enterprise storage for the hybrid cloud, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Avere delivers a more modern architectural approach to storage that doesn’t require the overprovisioning of storage capacity to achieve performance, overspending on expensive storage media for inactive data or the overbuilding of data centers ...
Feb. 12, 2016 12:30 PM EST Reads: 125
SYS-CON Events announced today that Alert Logic, Inc., the leading provider of Security-as-a-Service solutions for the cloud, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Alert Logic, Inc., provides Security-as-a-Service for on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures, delivering deep security insight and continuous protection for customers at a lower cost than traditional security solutions. Ful...
Feb. 12, 2016 11:45 AM EST Reads: 461
Fortunately, meaningful and tangible business cases for IoT are plentiful in a broad array of industries and vertical markets. These range from simple warranty cost reduction for capital intensive assets, to minimizing downtime for vital business tools, to creating feedback loops improving product design, to improving and enhancing enterprise customer experiences. All of these business cases, which will be briefly explored in this session, hinge on cost effectively extracting relevant data from ...
Feb. 12, 2016 11:15 AM EST Reads: 148
SYS-CON Events announced today that iDevices®, the preeminent brand in the connected home industry, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. iDevices, the preeminent brand in the connected home industry, has a growing line of HomeKit-enabled products available at the largest retailers worldwide. Through the “Designed with iDevices” co-development program and its custom-built IoT Cloud Infrastruc...
Feb. 12, 2016 10:00 AM EST Reads: 138
As enterprises work to take advantage of Big Data technologies, they frequently become distracted by product-level decisions. In most new Big Data builds this approach is completely counter-productive: it presupposes tools that may not be a fit for development teams, forces IT to take on the burden of evaluating and maintaining unfamiliar technology, and represents a major up-front expense. In his session at @BigDataExpo at @ThingsExpo, Andrew Warfield, CTO and Co-Founder of Coho Data, will dis...
Feb. 12, 2016 09:30 AM EST Reads: 226
The Quantified Economy represents the total global addressable market (TAM) for IoT that, according to a recent IDC report, will grow to an unprecedented $1.3 trillion by 2019. With this the third wave of the Internet-global proliferation of connected devices, appliances and sensors is poised to take off in 2016. In his session at @ThingsExpo, David McLauchlan, CEO and co-founder of Buddy Platform, will discuss how the ability to access and analyze the massive volume of streaming data from mil...
Feb. 12, 2016 09:00 AM EST
WebSocket is effectively a persistent and fat pipe that is compatible with a standard web infrastructure; a "TCP for the Web." If you think of WebSocket in this light, there are other more hugely interesting applications of WebSocket than just simply sending data to a browser. In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Frank Greco, Director of Technology for Kaazing Corporation, will compare other modern web connectivity methods such as HTTP/2, HTTP Streaming, Server-Sent Events and new W3C event APIs ...
Feb. 12, 2016 09:00 AM EST
SYS-CON Events announced today that Men & Mice, the leading global provider of DNS, DHCP and IP address management overlay solutions, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. The Men & Mice Suite overlay solution is already known for its powerful application in heterogeneous operating environments, enabling enterprises to scale without fuss. Building on a solid range of diverse platform support,...
Feb. 12, 2016 06:00 AM EST Reads: 262
With the Apple Watch making its way onto wrists all over the world, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a staple in the workplace. In fact, Forrester reported that 68 percent of technology and business decision-makers characterize wearables as a top priority for 2015. Recognizing their business value early on, FinancialForce.com was the first to bring ERP to wearables, helping streamline communication across front and back office functions. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Kevin Roberts...
Feb. 12, 2016 12:45 AM EST Reads: 418


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Late last week, it became known that Apple's latest 2018 MacBook Pros were throttling, which hurt Core i9 performance in particular. Yesterday we learned that this was actually due to voltage settings with the VRMs, and a user-generated fix was pushed out. Now, Apple has made things easier with a fix of its own, which is already rolling out in a macOS update.
Apple confirmed that its Core i9 MacBook Pro models were cutting performance under load, but passed it off as a bug that only affects the top model. In a statement, an Apple spokesperson explained that the company performed “extensive performance testing under numerous workloads” and ultimately learned that there was “a missing digital key in the firmware” that impacted the thermal management system.
This missing key in the firmware will be patched back into macOS and the rollout already seems to have begun. Some MacBook Pro owners have already begun testing with the latest update, which seems to smooth out the throttling issue. Higher clock speeds are being sustained for longer periods of time, leading to fairly significant 10-15 percent performance boosts.
Whether or not the Core i9 in the MacBook Pro will stand the test of time remains to be seen. Perhaps Apple should have reserved the Core i9 for a larger 17-inch model, with a better cooling system in place.
KitGuru Says: While the throttling issue has been resolved, I do have my doubts about the Core i9 MacBook Pro. The CPU is performing better now, but the cooling system inside of something as thin as a MacBook Pro can only do so much.


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Thousands of people in Surat have lost their jobs as the demand for precious stones drops.
Dire times grip India's diamond capital
SURAT, INDIA // It was his daughter's first birthday when Ashok Khunt, 30, an out-of-work diamond polisher ended his life by consuming pesticide. Khunt had worked for Simada, a diamond polishing unit, for five years until it closed in October for the annual Hindu festival of Diwali, never to reopen, leaving more than 60 men out of work. Khunt was the sole breadwinner for his wife, daughter and parents and became depressed after he lost his job and was unable to meet his family's financial needs.
The global economic recession has led to the closure of more than 30 per cent of the diamond polishing units in Surat, India's diamond capital, leaving thousands of workers jobless. In last three months 37 people have committed suicide, including family members of laid off workers. Surat has more than 5,000 diamond polishing units and more than 6.5 million people are involved in the industry. The desperation has also led to criminal activity.
"A jobless polisher, Shailesh Sojitra, recently snatched a bag of flour from a woman but was caught. As the mob tried to hand him over to the police, he broke down, pleading for forgiveness," said Pravin Bhalara, the president of the diamond workers association. "He told them that he was a diamond worker, the sole breadwinner of a family of five and that none of them had eaten anything for the past three days."
Most of the skilled diamond workers in Surat come from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. As the industry boomed in recent years, many workers settled in Surat, selling their homes in their native towns. In the narrow alleys of Katargam, Varachha, Mahidhapura and Punegam and other areas in Surat, workers cut and finished almost 70 per cent of the world's rough diamonds. Nearly 170 million carats of rough diamonds are polished annually with an average per carat value of US$287.88 (Dh1,057). The industry is estimated to be worth 800 billion rupees (Dh60bn).
The reduced demand for polished diamonds in world markets has left the industry in turmoil and the price of the finished diamonds is down by 30 per cent. Surat imports rough diamonds from South Africa, Belgium and Australia. Finished diamonds finished in Surat are generally sold in the West and the Middle East, with a small proportion sold in the domestic market. In recent months three chains in the US - Twitter and Sharper Image, Christian Bernard Stores Corp and Circuit City Stores - which imported Surat diamonds were declared bankrupt, resulting in the loss of an estimated 7 billion rupees for the diamond traders. Around 80 per cent of orders have been cancelled.
"The last five months have seen a steep decline in the demand of diamonds in the US and Europe," said CP Vanani, the president of the Surat Diamond Association. "During Christmas and Diwali, which used to be the main business periods, the sales were near to nothing. Our exports have fallen by around 70 per cent and our payments worth billions of dollars are blocked," meaning the money won't be transferred to the diamond traders' bank accounts.
More than 30 per cent of polishing units in Surat have stopped functioning in the last three months. The remaining units were reopened after the state government intervened, though working hours were reduced in the absence of demand. "We worked round the clock in shifts but the working hours have been reduced to four to six hours. Fifty per cent of the workers have been retrenched in past three months. Those who still have a job in the operational units have only minor cutting and polishing tasks for orders from domestic clients," said Mahadev Patel, a diamond polisher.
Previously polishers earned $250 per month, but that has gone down to $100. Industry experts say that apart from being hit by the global recession, the industry has suffered as diamond traders lost out on investments they made on the stock market and in real estate, which have tumbled to all-time lows. The recent attacks in Mumbai have added to the miseries. The traders have mooted a unique proposal to the central government for providing interest-free loans by accepting diamonds as mortgage. So far the government has been unable to formulate a bailout plan for the industry. Traders are also contemplating similar proposals to private banks and corporate.
"It's a hopeless situation; we don't have money to pay our workers from last three months. I had to close down my unit in November along with 32 workers. I had invested most of my savings in stock market and real estate. These are difficult times and there is no hope," said Vipul Shah, owner of Ratankar polishing unit. The government blames the unit holders for the delay in government assistance. According to the state labour department, only 426 factories are registered with them out of more than 5,000 estimated to be operating in and around Surat.
"The department had conducted many drives, but the manufacturers did not co-operate. The registration process has been started in the industry and we have to complete it as early as possible to access the exact number," said KM Patel, the labour commissioner in Gujarat. According to the state social welfare agency, more than 80 per cent of the school children whose parents are associated with diamond trade have not paid their fees from last four months. The Gems and Jewellery Relief Foundation (GJRF), a non-governmental organisation formed to help diamond workers raise money for their children's education, has received 8,000 applications in the last fortnight.
And according to reports, about 300 diamond workers are leaving the city every day. "One cannot afford to live in this city in these times. It's better to go back to my native place and work in farms," said Kiran Kadhania, a diamond worker from Junagadh in Gujarat, who has lived in Surat for 17 years. firstname.lastname@example.org


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In response to the increase in demand, and after a recent influx of $5.2 million in funding, Dukkantek, the UAE’s first revolutionary store management platform, has officially announced its expansion into six additional markets; Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Turkey. Not only has the funding facilitated Dukkantek’s plans to expand efficiently, but it further assisted the improvement of its technology stack, expanded the platform's reach, and served its ever-growing merchant base.
Founded in January 2021 by three co-founders who jointly witnessed a gap in the market to provide small and medium-sized merchants with functional technology, Dukkantek was designed to fully enable traditional merchants and dark stores to compete in the evolving digital world equally.
Co-Founder of Dukkantek, Ali Al Sayegh, comments on the reasoning behind the expansion, “The decision to expand as quickly as we did was based on two main aspects; we had identified traditional and community-based merchants operating in these markets that were underserviced and had reached out to them offering our solution and genuine support. We had also received several requests from a variety of merchants seeking our solution directly from the UAE. We then decided to respond to the inbound interest received, and swiftly set up in the six countries to service them efficiently and effectively. We have already sold our solution to over 1,000 merchants across these new markets.”
With the ever-growing demand for cashless payments, the platform’s cloud-hosted software allows business owners to keep track of transactions, monitor sales, calculate VAT, generate reports, and calculate profit margin. Additionally, its unique Cloud Inventory Management (IM) helps track stock, manage stock value, organize the inventory, manage fast-moving products, and generate reports for analysis. The POS system and its business offering will further allow merchants to facilitate a magnitude of sales, streamline its data and advance its internal systems cost-effectively.
Ali Al Sayegh further comments, “Our fast expansion in the broader GCC market is a testament to the strength of our team and product. We are now democratizing digital commerce across the GCC and will be doing it on a global scale in a few years. Dukkantek is striving for a bright future, and this expansion is only the beginning, with further market entry plans in development. The platform will continue to support small and medium merchants, ensuring that these businesses are continuously provided with the opportunity to operate in an ever-evolving world.”
Through the use of its advanced in-store boxes fitted with a seamless Point-of-Sales (POS) system that can be accessed online from anywhere in the world, Dukkantek’s UAE merchants have fully adopted the solution and have welcomed the newfound efficiency.


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Traffik Free Chocolate
Over a third of the cocoa that makes the world’s chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast, Africa. It’s highly likely that the beans that make your favourite chocolate bar come from here. Cocoa harvesting is backbreaking and hazardous work. The shocking reality is that much of this work is done by children. Despite improvements in the chocolate industry, human trafficking remains an ongoing and deep seated problem. Due to the hidden and illegal nature of human trafficking, gathering statistics on the scale of the problem is difficult. Estimates of child labour on cocoa farms in the Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana from organisation such as the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), UNICEF and Tulan University vary from 300,000 to 1 million from 2007-2013. We know that a portion of these children have been trafficked.
Despite grand announcements about investment of funds and numerous high level conversations with management and promises being made, Mondelez is yet to deliver. Join the campaign to ask Mondeléz for traffic-free chocolate. Order postcards from Stop the Traffik – firstname.lastname@example.org – sign them and post them back to Stop the Traffik. Postcards will be delivered to Ms Irene Rosenfeld the Mondeléz Global CEO in Chicago in early December.


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Silicon Mobility Receives ISO 9001:2015 Certification
Silicon Mobility, a full stack semiconductor technology player powering control solutions for a cleaner, safer and smarter mobility, has announced its certification under ISO 9001:2015 standard for the design, development, sales, support and supply chain management of its semiconductor and software products aiming at the improvement of the energy efficiency of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles.
Silicon Mobility Completes $10 Million Series B to Revolutionize Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Power Efficiency
Silicon Mobility, a full stack semiconductor technology player powering control solutions for a cleaner, safer and smarter mobility, has announced the completion of its $10 million Series B funding led by Capital-E and Cipio Partners including undisclosed private industry investors.
Silicon Mobility parts of Plug and Play’s Mobility Innovation Platform
Silicon Mobility has been invited to be a part of an exclusive list of less than twenty startup companies included in this year’s Plug and Play Winter 2018 program in the area of Mobility. Plug and Play is a global innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley that provides accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC for entrepreneurs around the world. More details here.


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Chinese operator advertise two screen sizes and receive 33,000 orders in under 24 hours
In just a few hours, China Mobile has bagged 33,000 pre-orders on the unreleased iPhone 6 – but the operator may have inadvertently released specs about the new Apple device, according to China Daily.
The worlds largest carrier began accepting reservations for both a 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch “iPhone 6”, seemingly confirming rumours that Apple will reveal two devices at its launch event on September 9.
The Beijing branch of the operator launched the advertising campaign on Tuesday and has so far received over 33,000 orders, despite the fact that no more information is available about the handset(s).
China Mobile has nearly 800 million subscribers, making it the largest operator in the world, and has had a partnership with Apple since January.
The operator has previously released information prematurely, advertising iPhone products before any partnership had been officially announced through a link on their website, which was quickly removed.
The iPhone 6 is expected to launch at a press event on September 9 with no official release date yet given for the handset.


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Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom are planning to merge T-Mobile UK and Orange UK. The companies have entered into exclusive negotiations to combine T-Mobile and Orange in a new 50:50 joint venture company.
If the negotiations are successfully accomplished (the deal is expected to be completed by the end of October), the new joint venture will create the UK’s leading mobile operator. It will have a combined mobile customer base of around 28 million, representing approximately 37 percent of UK mobile subscribers.
Mobile game sales are "flatlining" across North America and Western Europe despite increased interest from consumers, according to a report from Juniper Research.
It says that unless more operators adopt an Apple-like approach to rewarding games publishers, they will be driven away from the sector – and the number and variety of games available will decline.
Vyke Communications has announced a beta version of its mobile VoIP software and service for all Windows Mobile 6.0 and higher based smartphones.
The solution is based on Vyke’s stand-alone proprietary mobile VoIP technology, which the company claims allows it to provide high quality voice service while circumventing any operator handset tampering issues.


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German luxury car manufacturer Porsche's nonfungible token (NFT) collection reached 2,839 Ether (ETH) ($4.5 million) in total sales volume, according to data from NFTScan at the time of writing on Jan.
26. The collection had a floor price of 2.74 ETH and a high price of 9.18 ETH, with over 1,705 total sales. Originally meant to have a total supply of 7,500 NFTs, Porsche abruptly halted the minting process on Jan.
25 after some users complained of high minting prices and lack of utility for NFT holders. The supply has since been reduced to 2,363.
The NFTs originally had a minting price of 0.911 ETH — referencing the namesake “911” NFT collection — but many users complained that they wanted the price reduced to 0.0911 ETH instead.After community feedback, Porsche announced that it would expand holder benefits to behind-the-scenes access to the world of Porsche, co-creation of ”Porsche's future of Web3,” an exclusive physical capsule collection beginning Q2 2023, the opportunity to attend “money-can't-buy Porsche experiences,” and a "private airdrop" in March 2023.Read more on cointelegraph.com


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Users look at online ads
According to a research recently released in Spain, 61 percent of surfers actually look at online ads. Alt64 Digital carried out a study to understand what users look at while reading online newspapers such as ABC, El Periodico, El Mundo and La Vanguardia. Among the findings, the study points out less is better when it comes to the quantity of ads to be displayed on a page. Skyscrapers on the side of the page and leaderboards usually get most of the users’ attention.
The study has been carried out on account of Eyetracking Media España and can be downloaded for free here (opens .pdf, in Spanish).


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Microsoft has released some notable accessories over the years, but perhaps none have been better received by fans than the Xbox One Elite Wireless controller. Released back in 2015, the controller has a pretty hefty cost, clocking in at $149. However, a lot of players have noted that it's worth the money, with a nice, meaty feel, not to mention a number of items that can be accessorized, like the awesome D-pad.
It appears that Microsoft has been so pleased with the first model that they're going back to improve upon it. A Chinese website by the name of Baidu has reported that Microsoft is hard at work on a second version of the Elite controller, complete with a number of touch-ups.
These include a new USB-C port for charging, as well as Bluetooth support for Windows 10, Hair Trigger locks that now have three different levels, a longer key travel for paddles, and a three-profile switch, making it easier to accustom to certain player styles, should there be multiple people enjoying the Xbox in the house. It also appears to be chargable inside a carrying case, making it ideal for taking your controller to a friend's house and being ready for it to go in a game.
There also appears to be improvement going into the thumbsticks, with adjustable tension mechanisms for better overall feel. This makes sense, since Microsoft previously filed a patent for an adjustable lock design for its controllers, though it didn't note whether it would be a general improvement for them at the time.
The image above also shows what appears to be three LED bars, indicating that players could now have a better idea of the battery life in their controllers, so they know when they need to replace them. Previously, the only way you could see how much battery life was in a controller was by looking in certain menus on the console itself.
Some additional details have also appeared on Reddit, indicating that Microsoft is also redoing the grips. It's recently improved upon these with models of their controllers over the past year, but now it looks to be making the grips last longer than ever before. Some fans had previously complained about faulty grips with the original Elite controller, so it appears Microsoft is listening.
Microsoft hasn't had anything official to say about the controller, but it's possible that it could be announcing the Elite 2.0 at this year's pre-E3 press conference. We'll keep you informed if we hear anything about what it has planned.


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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 300 points Friday morning after President Donald Trump’s threat to more than double tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports went into effect.
The S&P 500 fell by 1.4 percent by mid-morning Friday, with the Nasdaq down 1.7 percent, after the U.S. slapped a 25 percent tariff on more than 5,700 categories of goods shipped out of China as of 12:01 a.m. Friday morning.
The extended market sell-off continues a volatile week on Wall Street as investors measured the likelihood of a resolution to months of trade negotiations between the world's two largest economies.
Dow futures had been flat overnight after the midnight deadline passed for the two sides to salvage the deal, but sank 150 points early Friday after President Donald Trump tweeted "There is absolutely no need to rush" the trade talks now that tariffs are "being paid to the United States by China."
Despite the president's assertions that China will absorb the cost of the tariffs, it is American consumers and manufacturers who will shoulder the burden, in the form of higher prices paid for consumer goods.
While Americans won't see any direct impact on their wallet right away, that situation will change over the next three months, when manufacturers and retailers will receive and reprice containers of goods that are not currently in transit. Cargo that is already seaborne won't be taxed at the higher rate unless it arrives after June 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Thursday it "hopes the United States can meet China halfway, make joint efforts, and resolve the issue through cooperation and consultation."
Negotiations to overcome the impasse continued Friday morning between China's top trade negotiators, China's Vice Premier Liu He, and the American team, led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
The ratcheting up of trade tensions has left businesses, investors, and policymakers across the world concerned about the negative impacts on an already slowing global economy.


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A company that manufactures laboratory instruments was honored Tuesday by the Allentown Economic Development Corp.
Applied Separations of 930 Hamilton St. received AEDC's Economic Development Achievement Award during the organization's 13th annual awards luncheon at the Allentown Hilton Hotel.
On hand to accept the award was Applied Separations Vice President Martin Fetner, a company founders.
AEDC President Kurt D. Zwikl said Applied Separations serves as a model for how economic development and the business incubator process are supposed to work.
The company began in 1986 with a product concept that was developed and tested while Applied Separations was a tenant at the Ben Franklin Technology Center in Bethlehem.
In 1992, when Applied Separations was ready for its first product launch, it set up manufacturing operations at AEDC's Bridgeworks Enterprise Center, a business incubator at the old Mack Trucks plant at 10th and Harrison streets.
Applied Separations "graduated" from the incubator the next year, one of Bridgeworks' first tenant companies to grow and become financially solid enough to move out on its own.
In June 1993, the company spent $150,000 to purchase a 24,000-square-foot building in the 900 block of Hamilton. After completing $90,000 worth of renovations, Applied Separations moved into quarters on the fourth floor, hired 21 people and began manufacturing.
As the business grew in the years that followed, the company took over the third floor of 930 Hamilton.
Various tenants occupy the basement, first and second floors of the building.
With Tuesday's program devoted to small business development and the business incubator, Zwikl noted that it was appropriate for Applied Separations to be selected as this year's award recipient.
The award is given to businesses or organizations that have undertaken a development project involving the reuse and rehabilitation of a building or construction of one, resulting in significant investment, the creation of jobs and a positive effect on the local economy.
The program featured three companies now housed at the Bridgeworks incubator: Advanced Research Systems, which uses the science of extremely cold temperatures in the development of new products and processes; SDS Design Associates, which manufactures magneticized decorations for cars; and eSocrates.com, a Web-based company that develops the computer software and proprietary courses of instruction for knowledge management and corporate training.
Sixteen companies are at the Bridgeworks Center, a record number of tenants. The incubator is fully occupied for the first time since it opened in 1989.
"News from the incubator could not be better," reported Zwikl.
Darryl Shellhamer, president of SDS, said his business never could have gotten off the ground without the planning and financial assistance of AEDC and Bridgeworks' incubator.
"It was just a wonderful place to start," said Shellhamer. "The support and assistance you get is priceless."
Reporter Bob Wittman